Folding wringer



Feb. 20, 1934. SAUNDERS ET AL 1,948,009

FOLDING WRINGER Filed Oct. 29, 1932 INVENTORJ 30a 55 10c 51 mi flmfg 'ATTORNEY Patented Feb. 20, 1934 UNITED STATES FOLDING WRINGER Tunis Saunders and Jacob Castline, Paterson, N. 3., assignors of one-third to said Saunders,

one-third to said Castline, and

one-third to Maurice Bernstein, Paterson, N. J.

Application October 29,

7 Claims.

This invention relates to washing machines having wringers and its principal object is to provide a machine of this class in which the Wringer, while preferably capable of being turned to different positions around a vertical axis, may be swung down when not in use, so as to be out of the way, and preferably'so as to be housed within the casing of the machine, the construction to I be such as to be simple and require little expense for manufacture of the parts involved and to give the mechanism a substantial and durable character.

in the drawing, M Fig. l is a front elevation of a washing machine embodying the invention;

Fig. 2 is a plan thereof; Figs. 3 and i are sections on line 3-3 and 4-4, respectively, Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 shows the wringer in side elevation in its preferred form; and

6 is a plan or the portion 10 of the lower pedestal-section portion.

Supporting structure is afforded by the casing 1 containing the tub 2, which is offset toward one end of the casing, forming with the latter a housing whose open-top space is indicated at 3, the upright wall structure of the casing having adoor i hinged at 5 so that it may swing down at its lower edge, 6 being latches which serve to hold the door in its normal or closed position. The tub contains a dasher '7 which here (but only by way of example) rotates on a vertical axis; its driving means is not shown as unnecessary to the present invention.

A hollow pedestal is arranged within the housing, comprising upper and lower sections and constructed as follows:

The lower section comprises a tubular body portion 10 and a ring 11 which is revoluole around the same. The body portion 10 has a top flange 10a and below the same a collar 10?) which form together a groove in which the ring is revolubie; the collar 10?) may be an extension of a brace 12 (Fig. 4) attached to the casing wall. The lower end of the body portion 10 has a wall lllc and an external flange 19d, by which latter it may be attached to the bottom of the casing. It also has a slot 10c. The ring is formed with a hinge member 11a.

The upper section 14 rests upon the flanged top of the body portion 10 of the lower section and at its top forms a housing 14a, its tubular portion having internal bearings 14?) and at the lower end a hinge member lac connected with hinge member 110. by the horizontal pivot 15.

Thus the upper section may revolve on the lower section around the vertical axis of the pedestal;

also, when a detent, consisting of a screw 16 having a nut 1'7, is disengaged from the notched r portion 11b of the ring 11, the upper section may 1932. Serial No. 640,138

down to the dotted line position shown The upper section may be held at any of four positions 90 apart to which it may be turned, and as shown by Fig. (i, by a spring actuated detent 18 in the form of a plunger guided and vertically movable in the section if: and adapted to engage in any of four notches 19 in the flange 10a of the lower section body portion 10.

The wringer is shown as of usual construction, comprising a frame 20, wringer rolls 2i iournaled therein on horizontal axes and a shaft 22 which carries one roll and extends from the frame and journaled in the housing 14a. The wringer frame may be kept from turning with respect to the housing by any means, as the key 23.

In the. example the wringer rolls are adapted to be revolved in either direction, for which purpose there are freely revoluble on the shaft 22 and within the housing 14a 2. pair or" beveled gears 24 formed with clutch faces at their near sides and splinedon the shaft is a clutch member 26 which may be moved into engagement with either of such clutch faces by a lever 27.

The drive means for the wringer' is completed as followst A revoluble clutch member 28 is journaled in the bearings 14!) or" the section 14 and has a beveled gear 28a at its upper end in mesh with the gears 24, its lower end having an external flange 28b which takes under the lower end of section 14 and is received by the portion 10 of the lower section. This clutch member 28 has a square hole 280 in its lower end, forming its clutching portion. The other clutch member 'is a shaft 29 having its upper end squared, as at 29a, to fit the hole 28c and forming the clutch portion of such member. The lower end of this member 29 is also squared, as at 29?), and fits the squared socket 30a of the head 30?) on a stub shaft 30 which protrudes through the wall 100 of the body portion 10 and the bottom of the casing and carries at its lower end a gear 31 which may be riven in any way, a ball bearing 32 being arranged between the head 302) and said wall 100. In the socket 30a is a spiral spring 33 which normally maintains clutch portion 29b engaged with clutch portion 23c. When the clutch member is pressed downward, as by a handle 34 between two collars 35 thereon and which projects through the slot-10c (the clutch member being revoluble in the handle), the clutch engagement is discstablished.

Wringers usually have a guide for delivering the goods wrung and'drip pans for directing the water wrung out. Where the wringer is reversible, as here, these should be operative accordingly. In this example the guide for delivering the goods is indicated at 34 and the drip pans at 35. The latter are foldable, on axes 35a, and the guide shiftable, on an axis 34a. The latter arbe swung in Fig. 3.

rangement permits the guide to be slanted either way according to the goods delivery and the former arrangement permits the drip pans to be folded up, as shown by dotted lines, Fig. 5, to make the wringer more compact when it is swung down into housing 3.

We believe these features are novel: (1) Given clutch members, as 2829, one of which is shiftable to clear the other when the upper pedestal section is swung down,to provide means, projecting from the pedestal, for effecting such shifting. (2) Given the upper and lower sections,- to form one section in two parts, a body portion and a ring revoluble around its axis and having a hinge-connection with the other section whose hinging axis is substantially horizontal. (3) Given such sections, but one including with a body portion such ring or any other member revoluble around its axis and having a hinge connection with the other section, and given a wringer having a shaft revoluble in the upper section,-to provide means to drive said shaft including upper and lower clutch members in which the upper member is geared with the shaft and has below the point of gearing a clutch portion separably engaged with the other clutch member. (4) Given such sections in which the upper section may swing down to inverted position and has the wringer shaft revoluble therein,to provide means to drive the shaft including upper and lower interengaged clutch members revoluble in said sections and separable from each other when the upper section is swung down and of which the upper member is geared with the shaft and has means, as 28?) independent of its gear-connection, to support said member on the upper section when the latter is inverted. (5) Given a tub, an upright wall structure forming with the tub an open-top housing, as 3, a support, as 10l1, and a wringer-including structure, as 1420, upstanding from said support and hinged thereto to swing down through the plane of said wall structure,to provide said wall structure with a portion thereof removable, as door 4, to permit such swinging motion of the wringer-ineluding structure.

When the clutch member 29 is depressed the handle may be turned and locked in the notch 10c of the slot 106.

Having thus fully described we claim is:

1. In combination, supporting structure, upper and lower hollow pedestal sections, the upper section being fixed to said structure and the upper section hinged to the lower section to swing down on a substantially horizontal axis, a wringer comprising a frame, revoluble rolls therein and a shaft for one roll projecting from the frame and journaled in said upper section, means to drive said shaft including upper and lower interengaged clutch members revoluble within said pedestal sections and the lower one being shiftable downwardly out of clutching engagement with the other, spring means yieldingly maintaining said lower section elevated in clutch-engagement with the upper member, and means on the lower member for shifting it downwardly out of clutchengagement with the upper member.

2. In combination, supporting structure, upper and lower hollow pedestal sections, the lower section being fixed to said structure and the up per section hinged to the lower section to swing our invention what down on a substantially horizontal axis, a wringer having shaft revoluble in said upper section, means to drive said including upper and lower interengaged clutch members revoluble within said pedestal sections and one being shift-able vertically into and out of clutching engagement with the other, the section containing said shiftable member having an aperture, and a handle, in which said shiftable memher is revoluble and confined thereto to partake of its shifting movement, protruding from said aperture.

3. In combination, supporting structure and upper and lower hollow pedestal sections, the lower section being affixed to said structure and one section comprising abody portion and a ring revoluble around the axis ther of and having a hinge connection with the other section whose hinging axis is substantially horizontal.

4. In combination, supporting structure and upper and lower hollow pedestal sections, the lower section being afiixed to said structure and one section comprising a body portion having a circumferential groove and a ring occupying said groove and revoluble around the axis of said section and having a hinge connection with the other section whose hinging axis is substantially horizontal.

5. In combination, supporting structure, upper and lower hollow pedestal sections, the lower section being affixed to said structure and one section comprising a body portion and a member revoluble around the axis thereof and having a hinge connection with the other section whose hinging axis is a wringer having a shaft revoluble in said upper section, and means to drive said shaft including an upper clutch member revoluble in the upper section around a vertical axis and having its upper end geared with the shaft and a clutch portion below such end and a lower clutch member revoluble in the lower section around a vertical axis and having a clutch portion engaged with the first clutch portion, said clutch portions being separable from each other when the upper section is swung down.

6. In combination, supporting structure, upper and lower hollow pedestal sections, the lower section being afiixed to said structure and the upper section hinged to the lcwer section to swing to inverted position on a substantially horizontal axis, a wringer having a shaft revoluble in the upper section, and means to drive said shaft including upper and lower interengaged clutch members revoluble within said pedestal sections and separabie from each other when the upper section is swung down, the upper member having a gear-connection with said shaft and means, independent of said connection, to support it on the upper section when the latter is swung to inverted position.

7. In combination, a tub, an upright wall structure forming with the tub an open-top housing, a fixed upstanding support in the housing, and a wringer-including structure upstanding from said support and hinged thereto to swing down through the plane of said wall structure into folded relation to said support, said wall structure having a portion thereof removable to permit swinging motion of said structure.

JACOB CASTLINE. TUNIS SAUNDERS.

substantially horizontal, L 

